Air-moistening device for hot-air furnaces



N M d 1. 2 9 2 e. W. PRIDRIGH.

. AIR MOISTENI'NG DEVICE FOR HOT AIR FURNACES.

N0. 528,202. Patentd Oct. 30; 1.894.

NirE TATES TEN Eric.

GEORGE W. FRIDRIOH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 528,202, dated October30,1 894.. Application filed December 11, 1893. Serial No. 493,439. (Nomodel.)

tion and arrangement of parts, hereinafter specified and designated inthe claims. a

The'object of myinvention is to provide an improved automatic or selfregulating air moistening apparatus for retaining at all times a supplyof water in the boiler or tank of said air moistening apparatus, andwhich shall have perfected means for distributing the vapor or steamjinthe warm air chamber of the furnace. f

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of portions offurnace having my invention thereon. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan viewtaken on the line of 2-2 of Fig. 1.

1 indicates the usual foundation of brick work or stone upon which thefurnace is supported for use; 2, the outer shell surrounding theavailable heating surface of the furnace and forming the usual warmair-chamber, to

the upper portion of which warm'air pipes,

as 3, are connected for conveying the warmed and moistened air tothevarious parts of a building.

Located within the outer shell 2, is the usual fire pot 4, whileabovesaid fire pot is: the combustion chamber 5, provided with the tubes6 adjacent its upper end, for the pas sage of the products of combustioninto the usual radiating chamber 7.

The furnace is provided with any suitable form of gratesuch as hereshown and indicatedby 8. I I

9 indicates-a fuel passageformed in the walls of the furnace above thegrate and extending from the fire chamber thereof outward through theouter shelland fitted with a fire door 10 at its outer end for the usualpurpose. The usual ash pit and ash door are provided. There is a spacebetween the top 11 of the combustion chamber and the top of said outershell. The annular radiatingchamber 7 is constructed to provide a space12 in front of the said combustion chamber above the fuel passage 9. Theusual smoke pipe connection with the combustion chamber will also beprovided.

a I will now proceed to describe the construction of my improvedau'tomaticregulating apparatus for retaining a normal supply of water inthetahk of the air moistening apparatus.

. 13 indicates a small boiler, which is prefer: ably rectangular incontour, having closed bottom and sides and a portion of its top openand a portion of it closed. The inner side of the said boiler isarranged preferably (but not necessarily) to be contacted directly bythe flame-in the combustion chamber, the same being located in anopening 14, cutin adjacent wall of said chamber, so that said boiler islocated directly above the fuel passage 9, and preferably has itsadjacent side walls in vertical alignment with the side Walls of saidpassage and said boiler extends from said combustion chamber outward toor close 1y adjacent the outer shell of the furnace. Directly above theplane of the upper side of the boiler a door opening 15 is formed in theouter shell of'the'fu'rnace and is normally closed by a suitable door orslide 16 by means of whichaccess may be had to the mechanism of theboiler for adjusting, repairing, the. Fixed in the boiler is atransverse partition 17 which extends therein with its lower edgeseparated a distance from the bottom of the boiler, the lower portion ofwhich steam chamber is in communication with the larger chamber of theboiler, by way of the passage formed beneath the lower edge of saidtransverse partition and the top of which chamber is closed by a head orcap 19 placed thereon. A normal water line is maintained in the largechamber of the boiler by means of a common float 20, mounted thereinupon a float lever 21 pivoted at 22 upon a transverse horizontal rod orbracket 23 mounted in said chamber, in combination with otherconnections now to be described. a 24 indicates a water supply pipe, theouter end of which is to be properly connected with the water workspiping of the building, and which pipe is placed through an openingformed in the outer shell of the furnace and extends to a point beneaththe bottom of said i iIO larger chamber of said boiler above the top ofsaid fuel passage 9 and is thereat turned outward and placed incommunication with an opening 25 in the bottom of said chamber and thisopening is controlled by valve 26 mounted upon a valve rod 27, havingits upper end connected with the float lever 21, on the side of thepivotal point 22 of said lever, which is opposite the side upon whichsaid float is located, so that when said float rises by the rise or fallof water in said chamber, said valve will be moved upward or downward,away from or toward the opening of the bottom of said chamber. The saidvalve will thereby more or less close the water supply opening of saidboiler. The float is pref erably adjustable upon said float lever, sothat it may be moved nearer to or farther from the pivotal point of saidlever and secured by means of a common set screw or other fastening 28,so that said float may rise earlier or later to retain a greater or lessheight of water in the boiler-chamber which contains said float.

29 indicates a steam-discharge preferably located centrally of the top11 of the combustion chamber in the space between said top and the topof the outer shell of the furnace.

30 indicates a steam pipe which connects said steam discharge with thesteam chamber 18 of the boiler, the lower edge of said pipe beingconnected with the head or cap 19 of said chamber, so that the interiorcommunicates with such chamber at the upper end thereof, and said pipeextends to apoint preferably in the plane of said steam discharge andthen horizontally of such discharge.

31 indicates a common valve applied to the steam pipe 30 and havingahandle 32 mounted upon the outer end of a valve rod 33, by means ofwhich the passage of steam through said pipe may be controlled orregulated. The said rod 33 extends horizontally outward through anopening in the outer shell at a point directly above the door or slide16 and the handle 32 is located thereon at such point.

The operation is as followsz-A fire being started in the fire pot, theproducts of combustion rise and pass to the smoke pipe or chimney in theusual manner. Prior to this however, the float chamber of the boilershould be supplied with water. Fresh air enters the warm air chamber atthe usual point adjacent to the lower end thereof by way of the usualfresh air duct or passage (not shown) and by contact with the heatingsurface of the adjacent parts hasits tempera ture raised and risesbetween the outer shell and the annular radiating chamber, and in thespace between said chamber and combus tion chamber and fire pot, andenters the warm air pipes and is conducted to the various rooms of thebuilding. Meanwhile the boiler has been supplied with water by thesupply pipe 24, to such height that the float 20 has been raisedthereby, and the height of water in the float chamber of said boiler isretained at normal elevation therein and also in the steam chamber 18,if the valve 31 be fully opened, the water in both chambers of theboiler seeking a common level and retaining the same under the abovementioned conditions and steam being generated in said steam chamber andvapor being thrown ofl in said float chamber, steam passes by way of thepipe 30 to the steam discharge 29 and is discharged in the warm airchamber, and difluses itself or commingles with the warmed air therein,and said vapor and said steam unite to moisten said air to the maximumdegree of humidity. If less humidity of the air is desired, thedischarge of steam may be limited by closing the valve 31, by means ofits handle 32. If said valve be entirely or nearly closed, the steamaccumulates under pressure in the upper portion of said steam chamberand forces the water therein downward a corresponding distance, therebyremoving the water from the exposed heating surface of said steamchamber and diminishing the generation of steam thereby to acorresponding degree. I have found that the higher the water level insaid steam chamber, the greater the quantity of steam generated by suchsurface and vice versa.

I am aware that air moistening devices have heretofore been providedwith an open pan or boiler in various forms, to discharge steam orvapor, and I therefore do not claim such as my invention, for the reasonthat in all of such devices no provision has been made for dischargingthe steam or vapor under avariable pressure, and in fact theconstruction has,been such that it was impossible for a body of steam toaccumulate under a perceptible pressure.

What I claim is 1. An air moistening device having a steam boilervertically divided into two sect-ions communicating with each other andin contact with the flames in said furnace, a feed water pipecommunicating with one portion of said steam boiler, float valvemechanism controlling the communication of the feed pipe with saidboiler, a steam-pipe leading from the remaining section of said steamboiler and communicating with the hot air chamber near the top of thefurnace, and a manually operated valve controlling the passage throughsaid steam-pipe.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a boilerlocated adjacent to, and in the path of, the flames from the grate, avertical partition in said boiler having a passage-way at the bottomthereof, a steampipe communicating with the closed upper end of one ofthe sections formed by the said partition and extending to a point ofdis charge in the top of the air chamber, a manually operated valvecontrolling a passage through said steam-pipe, a feed water pipecommunicating with the remaining section of the steam boiler and havingan open top,

a valve normally seated on said top closing In testimony whereof I affixmy signature in the port in the steam pipe, a valve-rod conpresence oftwo Witnesses. nected to said valve, a lever fulcrumed in the boiler andpivotally connected with the GEORGE FRIDRIOH valve-rod, and a float.adjustably connected Witnesses: to said lever, whereby the flow fromthe feed. W. J. SANKEY,

water pipe is automatically controlled. E. E. LONGAN.

